The Other Side
by Franbunanza
Summary: Daniel is welcomed to the land of the dead. Charladay loose sequel to my other fic, Soon enough, but can be read as a stand alone


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Disclaimer: I don't own any of these things.

a/n: I wrote this a week or so ago, but I was steering clear of as to avoid finale spoilers. Wowzers that was pretty shocking!

* * *

Eloise crouched beside the man she had just killed. The man she had encountered in the 50's was her son and now he lay dead beneath the blanket she had covered him with. It felt like a deeply disturbing nightmare, in which she had done something she could not undo. Regret throbbed inside her, her own pain felt cold and numb. She longed to wake up and be free of the guilt and anguish, but she knew this was no nightmare.

As Eloise got to her feet she took one last look at the covered body. A sad thought crept in amongst the others which were already crowding her mind. The repenting mother-to-be thought of the red headed woman that her son had loved, she imagined that the poor girl would be waiting somewhere for him to come back safe and sound. Now he would never get to return to her. Eloise wiped her tear filled eyes with the back of her hand and strode away from the body.

* * *

Daniel wasn't quite sure where he was, but there was no denying it was comfortable. His eyes opened slowly and he took in his surroundings. He was laying in a small makeshift bed, inside of a white tent. For a moment or two he suspected he was still at the hostile camp, he knew in his gut this was not the case. The setting sun offered an orange glow which crept in through the pale coloured canvas, he could hear people talking quietly amongst themselves and some what more peculiarly he could hear exotic birds chirping. Daniel had no recollection of seeing or hearing any exotic birds before. He had put it down to the unusual nature of the Island. His stomach dropped as he remembered what he had been doing before he had found himself in this new location.

The physicist placed a hand on his chest, he felt a bandage but very little pain, which came as a surprise. Eloise Hawking, his own mother, had shot him in the back.

Before he had anytime to fully ingest that mentally disturbing fact, he was interrupted by a man entering from the tent flap.

"You are awake then?" the man stated as he sat down on a upturned crate.

"Uh-yeah, I need to speak with Eloise." he rushed out.

The stranger gave an amused smile, "No need to worry about that, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but you are dead."

"Right, um, but…" Daniel furrowed his brow. "Wait what? No…no that's not… because I can still think and feel and…"

The man wasn't really listening, he turned his head away and made a motion to somebody standing outside.

"Alright Faraday."

"Naomi?" he tried to sit up, "How can…?"

"I just thought I'd come and check it was really you. Christian here told me that Daniel Faraday was dead and as you were one of my team I thought I should make sure." She stood in the opening to the tent with her arms crossed.

It must be true, if he was looking at Naomi, hearing her talk, then he must be dead.

Christian turned to Naomi, "Satisfied?"

She gave a sharp nod.

"Go and fetch her, she's probably at the Tempest again." Christian turned back to Daniel, "She just sits there most of the time, like it holds some sort of sentimental value for her. Its sad really, never managed to integrate with the others that well. Too stubborn."

Naomi set off.

Daniel lay flat and tried to catch his breath, his heart had started pounding erratically. There was only one person that Christian could have been talking about.

The older man got to his feet and rummaged around in a backpack that was hanging from a hook near to a small table.

"I believe these clothes were yours." he handed a small pile to the recently deceased man, with that he left Daniel alone.

Daniel unfolded the clothes, Christian was right, they were his. He had left them at the oceanic survivors beach camp three years ago, he wondered how they had found their way into the tent.

The dharma overalls he had been wearing were stained with blood, he was glad to be rid of them. The overalls were too baggy on him and reminded him of the agonising pain of being shot, so he changed into the clean clothes and washed his face with a bowl filled with water that had been placed on the table.

There was an air of familiarity about the tent. The way everything seemed to be neatly organized. He picked up a hair brush which laid beside the bowl.

It was almost too much to hope for, that _she_ might be here. But who else would Christian have been talking about? The strands of red hair in the brush sent further flutters of hope through him.

Daniel directed himself down on to the bed, he could see a shadow moving tentatively outside. He watched as the shadow paced back and forth before entering the tent.

For a few fleeting moments neither one of them said a word.

"Hello Daniel." her strange but familiar way of elongating the latter part of his name instantly soothed him.

"Hey Charlotte, its been too long." he replied, frozen with shock. The red headed woman stood before him, she was dressed in a yellow vest top and a pair of dark blue jeans, her hair tied in a high ponytail. Beautiful, but different from the scruffy mud ridden clothes she had died in.

"Yes." She turned and fastened the ties on the entrance shut. Dan held out his hand to her, she grasped his fingers in his. They both gave a nervous laugh.

"This is wonderful and terrible all at the same time." the dead girl rushed out, an overwhelmed expression on her face. "I'm not sure how to deal with this." she added honestly.

"I'm having trouble understanding how this all works?" he questioned as he stroked her hand with his thumb.

"What? The still breathing, still existing?" Charlotte sat down beside him, "I decided I'd just go with it, you know. It drives me mad, but none of them give me any answers."

Daniel nodded. "Its weird, not exactly what I had expected. I thought being dead would be…um… sort of like nothingness? Kind of."

"Haha, tell me about it. Its funny, really, the two of us as followers of science, in a completely irrational after life scenario."

Daniel laughed and rubbed his eyes and temples with his spare hand. "Is this heaven?"

"Do you believe in that sort of thing?" Charlotte asked placing her other hand on his.

He shook his head.

"No, me either. I took the concept to be a necessary construction of mankind, to help deal with the trauma of dying I suppose. But anyway Keamy is here, so even if I did believe in 'heaven' I'd be doubting his presence."

Daniel gave a deep sigh, "Charlotte, I…I had a plan, all laid out and ready to go. I was going to save you."

"Shh, don't worry. I heard all about it, Dan, you and that bloody bomb you just couldn't leave it alone could you?" She gave a sad smile. "I am so sorry for what happened to you, If I'd have been there…Well I'd probably have punched your mum in the face and that would have been awkward for everyone involved."

It made his stomach turn every time he thought about his mother and how she must have known, but Charlotte's dark joke lightened the weight in his gut, he let out a dry laugh.

"Uh Dan, everyone has their weaknesses, right? I'm not great at this sort of thing so I'm just going to ask you flat out, what you said back in the 50's, does it still stand?" Charlotte's blue eyes were gazing into his, that unique and innocent look apparent in them. The look she was demonstrating reminded him of the child Charlotte he had been talking to earlier.

He mouthed the word "what" as he tried to understand what it was she was questioning.

"Three years, you might have met someone…" her sentence broke before she could finish.

"Oh Charlotte, Of course it still stands." it dawned on him that she was trying to ask him if he still loved her. "I never, ever, stopped loving you."

Her lips turned upwards into a smile but she kept her eyes cast down, "Thank you, for the flowers that you put down for me."

"You knew about that?"

"I was watching you, I wanted to tell you but Christian wouldn't let me." She rolled her eyes. "He thinks he's the big boss around here, it can be intensely annoying. Sorry I'm rambling on."

"Charlotte, its just _so _good to hear your voice again." He reached up and placed his hands on her cheeks.

Charlotte glanced down at his attire, "I took your clothes from the old camp, Is that weird?" she queried uncertainly.

"Earlier today I spoke to a 5 year old you about chocolate and the dangers of the island, so no I don't think that's weird."

"I remember, we were at the swings." her tone was border line wistful as she recalled, "That is strange, heh, point taken. You'll be needing this I presume."

Dan watched as she unwound the black fabric she had tied around her wrist, as it unfurled he noticed it was one of his long lost ties. She straightened it out between her thumb and fingers. Charlotte leant forward, wrapped it around his neck and tied it for him.

"Thanks." he grinned, it felt comforting and familiar to have his own clothes. No more pretending to be in Dharma. After a while it had stopped being pretend and became normality, however, it never felt right or permanent for him as it did for James and Juliet.

Charlotte's face fell suddenly, "Oh crap!" she muttered under her breath.

"Hey, what is it? What's wrong?

"You just said you loved me for the second time and I failed to do anything about it _again_." she shook her head. "I warned you I was hopeless at this type of thin…"

Daniel broke her off by pressing his lips against hers. Charlotte jumped in surprise slightly, she closed her eyes and wound an arm around his neck, her hand stroked the back of his hair.

For three long years Daniel had held on tight to the memory of her soft lips brushing his cheek as they said goodbye. To think he had even entertained the notion of leaving her on the island made his blood run cold. He had decided as he carted the survivors from the island to the freighter that no matter what happened he was going to get "accidentally" stuck on the island too. He was just trying to keep it from looking too obvious. After all, what did he have to go home to? A ruined career? A practically empty home with a caretaker that he really didn't need or want?

No, the plan was always "stay with Charlotte". To keep her safe and for his own selfish longing to be close to her. Charlotte had a way of making him feel like a proper human being again, no patronising tones or fear in her eyes. She accepted him just the way he was and understood that what he had done had been an accident. Daniel usually felt paranoid and convinced that people blamed him, but with Charlotte the paranoia and guilt slipped away until all he could think about was waking up and seeing her rare and beautiful face everyday.

The time between her death and his had seemed like a hazy blur, a part of his life that he would willingly forget. He kept his head down and worked relentlessly on his plan. Although things hadn't worked out exactly the way he planned he couldn't fight the peace and joy that came with their reunion.

There would be no big wedding or children or a house together somewhere far away the like he had dreamt, and unbeknownst to him Charlotte to had allowed herself to hope for after he told her of his affections, but at least they would have each other.

"Oi Charlotte, you seen my guitar?" announced a blonde haired man as he burst in on them.

They broke away from one another, Charlotte turned pink, uncomfortable with a mere acquaintance catching her in such an loving embrace.

"Well, well, who's your friend then?" a smug look of amusement now adorning the intruders face.

"This is Daniel, you shouldn't just bustle in here unannounced you know, its rude!"

"Ah Daniel the brain-box? She's only mentioned you a couple of hundred-thousand times. Well, welcome to the land of the dead." he extended a overtly decorated hand to Dan, who shook it politely. "So spit it out then, how did you die?"

"Shut up Charlie!" Charlotte whispered under her breath as she shook her head.

"My, um, my mother shot me, straight through the back." Daniel stated as a matter of fact, with a flick of his finger to demonstrate the flight of the fatal bullet.

"Bugger, that almost beats my traumatic death! I drowned trying to save my mates from your lot."

"Yeah, sorry about that." the physicist muttered sarcastically as he scratched the tip of his nose.

Charlotte failed to stifle a laugh.

"Bloody hell, I've never seen Gingernuts smile before. I'll leave you to it then, and Charlotte, take it easy on the poor guy, he has just been shot ." Charlie quirked his eyebrows suggestively and went in search of his missing instrument.

"Friend of yours?"

Charlotte gave an unimpressed look, "Not exactly, they are all rather strange and trust me they all have a story to tell." she glanced down, entwined her fingers with Daniel's and pressed her palm flat against his.

Since she had died in his arms, Charlotte had been even more reluctant to let anyone touch her than she had been in life. It felt wrong to her somehow, as if touching her was Dan's right and no one else was allowed to. It was completely irrational but after some introspect she figured it must have come from his subtle but unabashed and relentless insistence on indulging her with physical contact.

At first it had made her a little uncomfortable. Within in a shockingly short amount of time she had grown used to it, accepted that it was his way and even came to crave it. With everyone else it never truly passed the uncomfortable stage.

This revelation, along with the fact that he was ridiculously intelligent, charming in his own unique, quirky way, a gentleman and had the most lovely brown eyes she had ever seen, helped her recognise the undisputed truth that he was the one for her.

"Charlotte?" he called out to her softly, she had been lost in thought for a little while.

"Come on, I'll show you around." She got to her feet after deciding that she should keep some of her thoughts to herself as to avoid feeling too vulnerable. Keeping their hands entangled, she led him out of the tent.

* * *

Daniel squinted slightly, the light was low with the sun setting but it still took him a moment to adjust.

A strange collection of people were scattered around small camp fires. Naomi was cooking some fish with the man named Charlie.

"I'm sure you will meet everyone in your own time, I'll just give you a few points of interest." Charlotte began. "That's Claire, she was the mother of the baby Sun took off of the island. I don't think she's actually dead, rather she's here because Christian is her father, but don't quote me on that. Oh she is Jack's sister"

"Does he know he has a sister? He never mentioned it, not that he would have mentioned it to me but…"

Charlotte shrugged, "Don't know, been dead for three years remember."

"Its so sad to think that he had a sister all this time and didn't know about her."

Charlotte gave a nod in agreement and carried on. "Shannon and Boone, now that's a sordid story for another time."

They made their way around the camp, with Charlotte narrating.

"Kevin, I mean Michael, the cleaner from the boat. Turns out he was one of the oceanic survivors, he got off the island but not before shooting Libby and Ana Lucia, over there." she explained as she pointed out the two women.

"And so… what… everyone just gets along?" Daniel breathed out in disbelieve.

"I wouldn't say that exactly, in fact the other day Mr. Eko and Keamy had a punch up."

Upon completing the tour of the camp they sat down with Naomi, Charlie and Claire.

"What's with all the birds, I heard some earlier." Dan queried as Charlotte handed him some food.

"They are all dead too." she responded simply before taking a bite of her dinner. "I've seen a horse and a frog as well, but not that sandy coloured dog from the oceanic camp. I wonder what happened to that thing."

Daniel didn't know, he wondered if Lafleur and the gang were still looking for the rest of the group.

"Sun came back to the island, I saw her." Charlotte gave a slight scowl, "Even after I specifically warned against it."

"They can't find her." Dan said between mouthfuls.

"Jin was adamant that she leave the island. So much so he actually threatened me, there were to be consequences if she didn't get on the helicopter." she placed her empty plate on the floor.

"What did he say? Was he going to hurt you?" he furrowed his brow.

"No, no, he said he would hurt you." her blue eyes were fixed on the flames from the camp fire.

"Oh, right, you never said anything." Dan shifted awkwardly and placed his arm around her shoulders. It didn't really surprise him that she kept it to herself, it did, nonetheless, surprise him that Jin had figured out a way to manipulate her and he was the method he used to go about it.

If Naomi had overheard, she had the tact to pretend that she hadn't. The dark haired woman took their plates, it was getting dark and cooler now.

"I'll be on dishes tonight, considering the circumstances. You know I had a bet going on you two, Miles owes me 20 quid." Naomi gave a quick smile, "S'only him and Frank left now, bloody boat must have been cursed or something."

Charlotte gave a thankful smile and nodded in response to Naomi's observation about the fate of those who boarded the Kahana.

The reunited duo moved closer together, Daniel ran his fingers back and forth across Charlotte's arm. Her skin felt smooth and cool beneath his touch. He recalled that she always felt slightly cooler than most people, it was because she was pale and not because she was dead.

"I've been wondering… where am I supposed to stay?" asked Daniel, he pointed to the tents with his free hand.

"With me of course, just like when we first came to this dodgy Island."

"But you only have one bed in your tent…" he remarked, his eyebrow quirked upwards in spite of his best efforts.

Charlotte gave a cool laugh, she looked up into his eyes and curved her lips into a grin. "That a problem?"

"Ah, no that's…that's fine by me." Dan gave a shy smile.

"Come on then." she got to her feet and brushed some leaves from her trousers.

* * *

The two of them returned to her tent. Daniel laid back down and watched as she replaced the water in the bowl and washed her faced, she left him for a moment or two so she could fetch some bottles of water in case they needed a drink. He found that he enjoyed watching her go about simple tasks, it was reassuring to just watch her exist in the same way that he existed now.

Once she had finished she took off her shoes and sat down beside him. Daniel quickly toed his shoes off as he remembered a lecture she had given him about getting sand on the blankets in their old tent.

Charlotte gave him a serene smile and bent over him so she could kiss him. He propped himself up on his elbows so he could reciprocate.

"Can I see?" she asked nervously as she moved away slightly.

Daniel nodded even though he wasn't sure what she wanted to see.

Charlotte sat back up straight, removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. It dawned on him that she wanted to inspect his wound. She was exceptionally careful as she removed the bandage that someone had wrapped around his chest.

The physicist locked his eyes with hers as she ran her hand across his chest. As she looked down he did the same. What he saw surprised him, there was no blood, just a dark scar. Charlotte pulled him forward, this movement led to their chest being pressed very closely together. The red head slid his shirt off of his shoulders and ran her fingers across his back, they came to rest on the corresponding scar.

There was no way for Charlotte to have prepared herself, the shock she had been fighting since she had learnt of his death hit her. Daniel felt her shudder and gasp, her breath escaping in silent sobs. He wrapped his arms around her, one across her shoulders and the other tightly around her waist.

"Shhshhshh Its okay, really, Charlotte. I haven't been this happy for three long, lonely years." He pressed his lips against the join of her neck and shoulder. He kissed her repeatedly until she calmed.

"Tangsinul sarang ha yo" she sighed as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Uh, sorry, not sure I got that? What did you say?" Daniel resigned himself to listen more intently.

"qamuSHa'qu."

He felt her lips turn up into a smile against his bare shoulder, she laughed gently, a sound that Daniel adored.

"Is that Klingon? I thought you were kidding." Dan laughed happily. "I still don't understand."

"Yes, but I think with them its about actions more than words, I'll keep that in mind if you can't decipher the next one. Ready?"

"Yeah, ready." Daniel furrowed his brow slightly in confusion, he was unsure at what Charlotte was playing at.

She readied a finger against the back of his shoulder and tapped as she spoke out aloud at the same time " Okay, ..||||||| ._. .|||_ _ _|||. _ _ _ ||||. ||||||| _. _ _ |||_ _ _|||.._ |||||||"

"I love you too," he chuckled and squeezed her a little tighter. "So much. You learnt Morse code?"

"Had plenty of time on my hands." she explained, "I was going to try ancient Egyptian next, as I've noticed quite a few hieroglyphs dotted around here and there. But that can wait."

Daniel nodded, "Lets investigate together, adventures into the jungle just aren't the same without you."

Charlotte grinned and pushed him back down on to his back gently, she climbed over him to rest against his left side, a little way away from the scar that acted as a reminder of his death. Her blue eyes drifted close.

"Charlotte, Charlotte." Dan called out to her.

"Yeah."

"Don't….. um, would you mind not going to sleep just yet, it makes me think of when…" his tone was almost fragile.

"Fair enough, I can understand that. You'll just have to distract me then." she put it simply with a slight stretch and a suggestive smile.

Daniel smiled and brushed a few strands of russet hair from her face, more than happy to oblige.

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a/n: reviews always greatly appreciated, and i'm very grateful for the large amount i got for my last fic :D XXbangbang


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